Dance Commentary and Reviews by Heather Desaulniers, freelance dance critic, former dancer and choreographer, PhD in dance history.

Monday, May 09, 2016

Smuin Ballet - Dance Series Two

Smuin Ballet

Dance Series Two

Yerba Buena Center for
the Arts, San Francisco

May 8th, 2016

Over the weekend, Smuin
Ballet launched a six-week tour of “Dance Series Two”, starting at Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts in San Francisco. This final offering of the twenty-second
season brings another of their diverse mixed repertory programs to stages
around the greater Bay Area. And it was also the first that I have seen that
didn’t include any choreography by Founder Michael Smuin. “Dance Series Two”
paired two returning works - Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto Il Lavandino (2014) and Jiří Kylián’s Return To A Strange Land(1975) – with the world premiere of
Helen Pickett’s Oasis.

The title says it all
with Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto Il
Lavandino (everything but the kitchen sink), an eleven-part movement suite
set to music by Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi. And I use the term ‘movement
suite’ purposely, because Tutto Eccetto
Il Lavandino is filled with every type of physicality you could imagine.
The curtain rises to a striking initial image – the entire ensemble, at
different facings, standing still in 5th position. Elegant phrases
with unexpected infusions fill this introductory chapter: ballet, percussive
footwork, sprinter-inspired poses. That mixology continued throughout, an array
of ingredients in perfect ratios. Erica Felsch, Robert Kretz and Robert Moore’s
cannoned rond versé, ending in a deep side lunge; Nicole Haskins’ quick
grapevine on pointe; Weston Krukow’s swirling torso; the courtly entrance/exit
of couples; the neo-classical partnering by Krukow and Erin Yarbrough-Powell;
Haskins’ super-passé, neither a closed or open position, instead existing
deliciously in between. Tutto Eccetto Il
Lavandino is a great piece for this company, and shows once again Caniparoli’s
skill as a choreographical mixologist. But it is desperately calling for live
musical accompaniment.

In its four gorgeous
sections, Kylián’s Return To A Strange
Land(1975) takes its audience
on an emotional journey. There is no linear story, yet clear feelings, moods
and narratives abound through the work. Part I’s pas de trois
(Yarbrough-Powell, Kretz and Dustin James) is equal parts solemn and hopeful as
the three bodies weave tenderly and introspectively. Erica Chipp and Ben
Needham-Wood attended the second section with maturity, depth and a sense of
knowing. But there was also a profound duality at play – one minute they were
soaring and swimming through the air and the next they were pulled to the floor
with knee turns and skimming spins. The third chapter begins with Yarbrough-Powell
and Kretz looking into the wings; trying to glimpse someone or something. And
the duet that unfolds is one of that outward impulse, one of looking, one of
searching. Part IV’s pas de trois (Chipp, Needham-Wood and Rex Wheeler) starts
as a circuit of balances and picturesque tableaux. Then, through a series of
temps levées, crescendos into large jumps of abandon. And you cannot talk about
Return To A Strange Land without
mentioning the phenomenal (and daring) balances that Kylián created to close
each portion of the ballet.

“Dance Series Two”
concluded with the premiere of Pickett’s much-anticipated Oasis, original score by Jeff Beal. Oasis starts with a musical entr’acte of sorts; a whimsical melody
that felt bright and free. As the lights came up, wave-like structures
comprised of flexible strands (design by Emma Kingsbury) hung from the rafters
and water bubbles were projected onto them. All these collaborative elements
set an impeccable framework for the ballet that would develop in the next
thirty minutes, a dance of true splendor. Everything about Pickett’s Oasis was full – full cast, full
throttle performances, full conceptual exploration through mesmerizing
choreography. Coming from upstage, the dancers broke through the ‘curtains’,
arms billowing, feet striking the ground in piqué, like droplets in a pool;
legs kicked into the space, imaginary water being flicked off their toes. The
ensemble (which the program says was sixteen dancers but I only counted fourteen)
rushed the stage in a mystical, intoxicating sequence, almost like they were
casting a spell. Packed with long extensions, a sensual duet for Felsch and Krukow
fed into a flirty ballroom waltz – couples cleverly darting in and out of the
wings. Moore and Terez Dean offered another tactile duet of longing and
impulse. Small movements would ripple through and affect the entire body, as
with water. A tiny circle of the leg would evolve into a huge rond de jambe;
pas de chevals grew into full extensions. And these were just a few of the
standout moments from Oasis. I
believe this the second full-length piece of Pickett’s that Smuin Ballet has
added to their repertoire, Petal
being the first. Both are phenomenal works that marry traditional and
contemporary ballet with ingenuity and gumption.

Smuin Ballet’s “Dance
Series Two” runs for another weekend in San Francisco before heading off to
Walnut Creek, San Mateo and Carmel.